The O-circuit is the longest and most complete hike you can do in Torres del Paine National Park. It’s an amazing experience that should be on any hiker’s bucket list. Since it’s a long hike in the mountains, and a very popular one, this hike does require some preparation. This is why I wrote this extensive guide which includes everything you need to know about hiking the O-circuit in Torres del Paine National Park.
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Table of Contents - Everything you need to know about hiking the O-circuit in Torres del Paine
Orientation
What is the O-circuit
The O-circuit, als called the O-trek or the Paine Massif trek, is the longest and most complete hike you can do in Torres del Paine National Park. Whereas the W-trek only wraps around one side of the mountains, the O-circuit doesn’t stop where the W-trek does, but also circles around the backside of the mountains. It is a circular hike which goes around the Paine massif, which is where it got its names from.
The official website of Torres del Paine has a great map available.
How many days is the O-circuit in Torres del Paine
The standard time to complete the O-circuit is 8 days. But you can make alterations and do it in as little as 6 days, or take it easy and take up to 10 days.
We did it in 8 days, which was the perfect amount of time for us. If you want to include extra activities at Glacier Grey (which I will get to later) I would recommend planning 9 days to complete the loop.
Is the O-circuit worth it?
Yes, 100%. The towers might be the most iconic sight in the park, for me the absolute highlight was the Grey Glacier. The most amazing view over the glacier is from the John Gartner pass, which you can only cross by hiking the O-circuit. I also really enjoyed the less busy tracks. On the W-trek it was impossible to have time alone, but on the O-circuit I was able to walk alone for quite some stretches and just really enjoy the nature around me.
If you have doubts whether the O-circuit really is the right option for you, you can refer to my comparison between the O-trek, W-trek and day trips in Torres del Paine.
Know before you go
Before you start to plan your hike, there are a few important things you need to know in advance:
- Due to its popularity, the cheaper accommodation options book out very quickly, making it almost impossible to do this hike last minute. Especially in January and February, the most popular months in Patagonia in general.
- Weather changes quickly in the mountains, and even in summer it can get cold and rainy. It is important to have the right gear, especially when you want to do a multiple-day hike like the O-circuit. This means either buying equipment in Chile, bringing it with you on your trip, or renting it in Puerto Natales.
- Torres del Paine National Park is one of the most popular destinations in all of Chile. While I absolutely loved the hike and would recommend it to every hiking enthusiast, it is important that it is quite a commercial and a busy hike. While you might find yourself alone on the trails from time to time in the more remote part of the circuit which only O-circuit hikers touch, on the part that is shared with the W-trek it is quite rare to be alone.
- The O-circuit can only be hiked counterclockwise, but there are several options to spend your first night: Central, Seron or Paine Grande.
Planning the O-circuit hike in Torres del Paine
Booking your accommodation
There are several ways to book your accommodation. The two most popular are booking directly with the campsites, or booking with Booking Patagonia Travel. I chose to book directly with the owners of the campsites, since I’m a bit of a control freak and I like to know exactly what I am booking. Booking Patagonia offers different packages based on current availability at the different campsites. Since booking with them saves a lot of hassle and puzzling, they have quickly become a popular way to book accommodation. In order to keep all the information organized, I have explained the booking process in detail in this How to book campsites for Torres del Paine article.
Getting the right gear
Firstly, you will need to decide whether you want to bring gear you already have, buy gear just for the hike and sell it after, or rent gear in Puerto Natales.
If Patagonia is your only destination for this trip and you have good gear, the choice is easy: bring it!
If Patagonia is part of a longer trip in South America, you will have to keep in mind that if you want to bring your own gear and keep it. This means extra weight you will be taking with you on your whole trip. This is what I do though, and while my backpack is a little bigger and heavier than that of the average traveler, I’m very happy to always have what I need with me. But this is a choice everyone will need to make for themselves.
You can also choose to buy things and sell them when you don’t need them anymore. This is a great option if you don’t want to take the extra weight with you once you leave Patagonia. Do note that you will need to calculate some extra time to sell your things in this case and that this will be easier if you travel earlier in the season.
There are also many rental places in Puerto Natales which rent gear. This is the more expensive option, but the easiest if you don’t want to buy gear.
Of course you can also mix and match, taking things that will come in handy throughout your trip, and renting a tent for example, which you might not use anymore.
Last preparations before you start hiking the O-circuit
Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas
Puerto Natales is the gateway to Torres del Paine and most people leave from here. It is the closest town, so the most convenient place to leave from, but it is a relatively expensive place. Punta Arenas is a city only 2 hours from Pueto Natales, and a cheaper place to buy last minute things, and flights to Punta Arenas are generally also a lot cheaper than to Puerto Natales. So you might want to consider either leaving from Punta Arenas, or pass by here and only spend one night in Puerto Natales before you start your hike.
If you need to rent things for your hike, Puerto Natales has more options. If you want to buy, Punta Arenas is just as good, or even better than Puerto Natales, depending on the things you need.
You can buy all the food for your hike in Puerto Natales, but if you want more specialized options, you have more options in Punta Arenas.
Buy your National Park pass
It is not possible to buy the National Park pass on the spot. You have to buy it in advance, which you can do on the official website. Make sure to save your QR code on your phone as soon as you have bought the ticket. There is no internet or phone reception at the park entrance, so you won’t be able to retrieve your booking there.
Buy your bus tickets
There are several companies that sell tickets in the terminal. We bought our tickets at the Bus Sur office in Punta Arenas, but you can buy tickets online as well. Do buy a retour ticket, as it’s cheaper and there is no ticket office to buy tickets at the National Park entrance and no internet either.
The bus will bring you to the entrance of the park. Here you can hop on a shuttle bus from the National Park, which gets you to the Central Section. It’s also possible to walk, but since it’s quite long and not a very interesting hike, most people opt for the shuttle. There is no need to book in advance, you can just buy a ticket on the spot (4.000 Chilean pesos at the time of writing, cash only).
Pack your bag
Packing your bag for the O-circuit is pretty similar to packing your bag for any other multiple day hike in the mountains. So in order to not repeat myself over and over again, you can refer to this packing list for multiple day treks in the mountains.
You can be a little more stingy with food on this hike, as you can buy food at the campsites or even get complete meals included. The meals are generally very expensive though, but you can buy a pack of pasta, instant noodles, sauce, tuna etc. at the kiosks at the campsites if you do run out of food.
As for camping gear, you can opt for staying at huts at several campsites, or rent equipped tents, meaning you won’t have to bring your own camping gear. But this is also very expensive and budget travelers will need to bring their own.
Our O-circuit in Torres del Paine itinerary
There are several ways to hike the O-circuit, the below is the most common itinerary. You can also start with Las Torres on your first day, and stay at Seron on the second day if you prefer.
In theory it’s also possible to start at Paine Grande, but it takes longer to get here and you’ll need to pay a return ticket for the ferry as well. So unless you’re very set on starting at Paine Grande, I would enter the park at Central and either start with Las Torres or Seron.
Day 1: Central to Seron
This is an easy hike and a nice way to start. The hike is about 15 km and there is not so much elevation gain and loss. Do note that your backpack will be at its heaviest, so that will complicate the hike a little bit.
We had a rainy day for this leg and it was very muddy in parts. We hiked it in about 4 hours taking it easy, but would have been able to do it quicker had the trail been in better conditions.
You’ll hike through the forest and get some nice views over the river. We couldn’t see much more because of the weather, but it’s supposed to be the least impressive day. Still very pretty though!
Seron Campsite
The Seron campsite is not the nicest one. It’s quite expensive for what it is. There is a very small shelter which offers hot water to make coffee/tea. It closes at 6 pm for dinner, for those who have booked it though and everyone else needs to leave. There is a bigger tent where you can cook, but it’s still small for the amount of people who stay here and it’s cold.
You can charge your phone at the shelter, just make sure to do it before 6 pm if you haven’t booked dinner. There are hot showers available, but be quick as the hot water can run out.
Day 2: Seron to Dickson
This hike is a bit longer (about 20 km) and has a steep incline which is a little tough. But overall it’s not such a difficult hike. The most difficult part was the heavy backpack. There is a ranger station about half way with toilets and picnic tables, which is the perfect place for a lunch break. It’s not allowed to cook here though. But the ranger can get you hot water for a drink if you want.
The ranger will also check your reservation and you’ll need to register before you can continue your hike. It’s about 10 km more from here, but almost flat with a little hill at the end from where you get a really nice view over the campsite which is right at the lake.
Dickson campsite
Dickson was my favorite campsite. It has a beautiful setting right at the lake, and even has a beach! It also felt quite luxurious after Seron with a nice cooking shelter which is open until 10.30 pm. People who have booked dinner will eat at the restaurant.
Showers are located in the same building as the cooking shelter, toilets are in a separate building. You can charge batteries at reception or in the cooking shelter.
Day 3: Dickson to Los Perros
This is quite an easy hike, comparable to the first day. It’s a little more uphill, but there was less mud! You’ll walk mostly through the forest and there are beautiful views over the mountains, a river, and waterfalls. Right before arriving at the campsite, you’ll pass by a viewpoint over the Los Perros Glacier. It’s really close to the campsite, so you can come back here for sunset if you want to, or walk over to the lake. The hike itself is only about 12 km, so you won’t be pushed for time today. Which is good because tomorrow is a tough day, you probably want to get some rest.
Los Perros campsite
So let’s start with the bad news: there are no hot showers at Los Perros campsite. This is the most remote campsite and the installations just don’t allow for it. There are also no shelters with beds available here, only tents.
But it’s not all bad news. There is a nice cooking shelter where you can hide from the cold and toilets are in the same building. You can charge your batteries in the cooking area.
Day 4: Los Perros to Grey
This is by far the hardest leg of the hike, since it crosses the John Garner Pass. It’s a steep climb up, and an even steeper and very long way down, which was actually more difficult than the hike up.
The cut-off point to start the hike depends on the weather conditions, and in our case it was at 7.30 am. We started at the recommended time of 7 am, so we would have enough light on the mountain when coming out of the forest as the path isn’t clearly visible here. You’ll need to pay attention to the signposts.
It had been very bad weather until 2 days before we crossed the pass, so there was a lot of show and the hike down to the forest was very icy. In the forest it was mixed icy and muddy for a while and then muddy until it got less steep.
From there it was what seemed to be an endless trail of ups and downs until the campsite. Since it kind of feels like the hard bit is over once you’ve come down the pass, the next bit seems like it’s never ending. Especially since the tiredness from the last days was adding up and the heavy backpack makes it all even harder. But, while this might be the most difficult leg, it’s also the most beautiful. The view from the pass itself is the most beautiful mountain view I’ve seen. The glacier from the start (or end) until it disappeared into the mountains. I do have to say we were very lucky with the weather though. It’s quite rare to see the glacier until the mountains.
On the way down you’ll continue to have beautiful views over the glacier. Especially on the pass before heading into the forest and from the three hanging bridges you will need to pass.
Grey campsite
The Grey campsite consists of different sections. One being more comfortable than the other. But since we arrived rather late, the good section was already full. Grey is also part of the W-trek, so you’ll notice quite a lot more people compared to the last few days. Our section wasn’t so bad, it was just very uneven. But since we have inflatable mats and were absolutely exhausted from the hike, we slept well anyway.
Here you have another cooking shelter, hot showers and of course toilets. You can charge batteries outside of reception, or ask the staff in the kiosk if they are full. There will be more people and finding a spot to charge your phone will be a little more difficult compared to the last campsites.
Extra activities – If you want to spend some extra time at Glacier Grey, there are two extra activities you can do. First, it’s possible to do a glacier hike and walk on the Grey Glacier. If you don’t want to do another hike, but do want to get a closer look, a boat tour is a great option. Inquire at reception if you’re interested in these activities. If you do want to join of the excursions, you might want to consider staying another night at the Grey campsite. While the hike between Grey and Paine Grande isn’t very long, it will be another big day if you want to join an activity in the morning and hike to Paine Grande in the afternoon.
Day 5: Grey to Paine Grande
Today is a relatively easy day with only 11 km. You do need to cross a hill which might feel quite tough after the past 4 days, but there is plenty of time to take it slow today. We had a sleep-in and then spent the morning around the Glacier Viewpoint close to the campsite before packing up again and heading to Paine Grande.
Paine Grande campsite
Paine Grande offers both platforms and grass to pitch your rent. As long as there is availability you can choose. The cooking area and dining room are separated, you’re not allowed to cook at the tables. This makes it a little less comfortable and less cozy compared to the other campsites. The dining room is huge though, so more space for more people. There are plugs here too, but they also fill up quickly. The hot showers and toilets are located in a separate building.
If you’re running low on food, this is the best place to buy some. Since the boat arrives at Paine Grande and supplies don’t need to be moved any further, this is the cheapest place to buy products. This doesn’t mean it’s cheap though, just a little less expensive. The restaurant also offers a simple buffet dinner at the best value you’ll find on the trek, so if there is one day you won’t be cooking, make it today.
Day 6: Paine Grande to Frances + Mirador Britanico.
The first part of today is quite easy: hiking to the former Italiano campsite. There are two paths you can take. The path to your right is officially the correct way to take when hiking from Paine Grande to Frances. The path on the left is officially the path to take when hiking the other direction. This wasn’t made very clear though, and people were hiking in both directions.
The hike to Italiano is about 8 km. While the campsite is no longer in use, you can leave your luggage here when hiking to the viewpoint. You don’t want to be hiking up with your stuff.
From Italiano it’s 2.5 km one way to the Frances viewpoint, and 5.5 km to Britanico. Even if you don’t have the time or energy to hike to Frances or Britanico, I recommend to still go to the unofficial lookout. You’ll see an area with big rocks from where you have an amazing view over the Frances glacier. Then you can decide whether you want to hike 2.5 km uphill to the Frances mirador from where you’ll see the glacier from closer and higher up. From here it’s another 3 km uphill to the Britanico viewpoint. Here you’ll have a beautiful view over the mountains. Note that a ranger will start to send people down at 4 pm, so don’t start your hike too late!
Cooking lunch – If you really want to cook your lunch, you can also continue to Frances instead of dropping your luggage at Italiano and have lunch there. Unfortunately the reception doesn’t open until after 2 pm and since you’ll need to pitch your tent on a platform, you’ll need to wait until after the check in to pitch your tent. We hoped to be able to pitch our tent already, so we could hop right in after a long and tiring day, but that didn’t work out that way. But at least we had a nice hot lunch before starting this demanding hike.
It does add a little extra distance to the hike and my tracker was showing just over 27 km for today, so it was quite a big day with lots of elevation gain and loss.
Frances campsite
The Frances campsite was by far my least favorite. It’s built on a steep slope in the forest and after a long and tiring day the last thing you want to do is having to keep going up and down. We had one of the upper platforms, making it even worse. Especially since the building with the showers and toilets is all the way down. There are several small cooking areas instead of one big one and luckily we had one close to our tent. But we still had to go all the way down to wash the dishes.
Day 7: Frances to Central
The hike between Frances and Central is quite an easy one. There is a hill at the beginning and other than that there are small ups and downs. The hike is about 14 km and with 6 days of tiredness adding up, the hike felt tougher than it actually was. I had to think twice when Miguel called me over to the hill where he was standing. But he seemed very excited so I went over and we saw a Guanaco! Surprisingly, this was the very first, and last, guanaco we saw in Torres del Paine. There used to be many in the area of Central. But with the huge numbers of tourists passing by every day and more hotels popping up, they have been driving out of this area.
Central campsite
One of the best things about the Central campsite is that it’s big. There is plenty of space available and also a few showers and toilets. Other pluses are that you’ll get a welcome drink and if the sky is clear you get to see the iconic towers from the campsite.
The restaurant was full of people, but we had plenty of space in one of the cooking shelters. Plugs are rare, if the ones outside the reception are full, ask the people working there. They might have a space inside, or check at the restaurant when having your drink.
As at the campsites there is a small kiosk at reception as well where we bought some well deserved chocolate. This was going to be our threat at the towers tomorrow!
Day 8 - Base Torres
The hike to Base Torres from Central is about 10 km one way. So if you have booked the 3 pm bus, you will need to hike up for sunrise. If you booked the 8 pm bus, or will be spending another night, you can go later too.
We had booked the 8 pm bus to be on the safe side, but still wanted to do the sunrise. The forecast was not so good though, so we decided to just see what the weather was like at 4 am. Since it was super cloudy, we zipped the tent up again and went back to sleep.
When we got out of the tent around 8 am, it had completely cleared up and the towers were beautifully lit up by the rising sun! Oh well… I have to say I did really need those extra hours of sleep, so it was hard to be mad about that. And I still loved the viewpoint, also later in the day.
We started our hike at about 8 am, when fewer people start. At this time the day trippers haven’t arrived yet and most campers go up for sunrise, so that was nice too. I’m saying relatively, as there were still a lot of people. This is the busiest trail in Torres del Paine after all.
The hike started quite tough for me, as I was exhausted from the last week. But it gets easier! The first 3 km are quite steep, but then it flattens out a bit more with smaller ups and some downs. Until you get to the last kilometer, which is very steep. But then it’s only 1 more kilometer and if you made it this far, you can do the last km too!
Once we got to the top, the sky was still mostly clear, so we had a wonderful view over the towers. So we found a nice spot to chill, enjoy our chocolate and the view, and feel so incredibly proud of ourselves for completing this amazing hike, carrying all our stuff. It was definitely tough at some moments, but it was such an incredible experience. One we will always treasure. Now all that was waiting was the hike down and one last campstove meal before we hopped on the bus back to Puerto Natales.
